Following Folktales Around the World

This blog series is my version of A year of reading the world: I aim to read a collection of folktales, myths, legends, or other traditional stories from every single country. I blog about each book and the stories in them, listing some of the best tales, as well as connections across cultures. You can find all posts listed on this page, or under this tag. You can also follow the weekly updates on the project's Facebook page here!

Read the introduction post to this project here.

The posts below are organized by continent. The list gets updated as posts are published every Monday.

Africa

Algeria - Every hero gets an ogre

Angola - Unlikely heroes, diverse tricksters

Benin - Dawn to dusk

Botswana - Tricksters in the bush

Burkina Faso - Brains over brawn

Burundi - A country without tales

Cameroon - The story door

Cape Verde - Tricksters and oceans

Central African Republic - Animal friendships, animal enemies

Chad - Jackals, hyenas, dogs

Comoros - Little islands full of trickery

Democratic Republic of Congo - Genets and genesis

Djibouti - Afar folktales of foxes and hyenas

Egypt - Land of life and death

Equatorial Guinea - Courage against cruelty

Eritrea - Old knowledge of ancient things

Eswatini (Swaziland) - Many kinds of transformations

Ethiopia - Kindness and wisdom

Gabon - Animal tale bonanza

Gambia - Hare and trickery

Ghana - Anansiland

Guinea - The epics of the Mande

Guinea-Bissau - Classics and morals

Ivory Coast - Great monsters, questionable husbands

Kenya - Nuggets of story wisdom

Lesotho - Adventures are for girls

Liberia - Humor and hard lessons

Libya - Brains over ghouls

Madagascar - Magic and blood

Malawi - Morals for the next generation

Mali - Good examples, bad examples

Mauritania - Saints and lessons

Mauritius - Pearls from India

Morocco - The last storytellers

Mozambique - Familiar discoveries

Namibia - Tales of strength and endurance

Niger - Hausa tales of wisdom and adventure

Nigeria - Spirits and tortoises

Republic of Congo - Strange dilemmas and just decisions

Rwanda - Survivor stories

Sao Tome and Principe - Roosters, dogs, tortoises

Senegal - The epic of Kelefaa Sane

Seychelles - Creole tales from the blue ocean

Sierra Leone - When birds talked and trees walked

Somalia - Animal helpers, human dangers

South Africa - Diverse tales from a diverse country

South Sudan - How and why stories

Sudan - Bedtime lions

Tanzania - Incredible tansformations

Togo - Tricksters and more tricksters

Tunisia - Love is a matter of blind luck

Uganda - The wisdom of the jungle

Western Sahara - Hedgehog hero

Zambia - Tales word for word

Zimbabwe - Pig noses and exotic birds

Asia

Afghanistan - Heroic princesses and important lessons

Bahrain - Wonders on wings 

Bangladesh - Tales like shining jewels

Bhutan - The fantastic fauna of the Himalayas

Brunei - Cool stories from a tiny country

Cambodia - Tricksters and justice in Cambodia

China - Leggings for ants

East Timor - Crocodile island

India - Little known India

Indonesia - Why are there no tigers in Borneo?

Iran - Persian tales come alive

Iraq - Plot twists and a flying mermaid

Israel - A treasure trove of stories

Japan - Kitsune, tanuki, and other Japanese classics

Jordan - Heroes and prophets

Kazakhstan - A magic garden of stories

Kuwait - Pearls of wisdom

Kyrgyzstan - Kindness, wits, bravery

Laos - Pit stop in Laos

Lebanon - Worlds behind the curtain

Malaysia - Visiting Kanchil

Maldives - Tales of the endless ocean

Mongolia - Career tricksters

Myanmar - Royal wisdom and trickery

Nepal - Demons, spirits, clever women

North Korea - Trickster propaganda

Oman - Happily ever after, with a little help

Pakistan - Tragic love stories all the way down

Palestine - Wise grandmothers and brave women

Philippines - A stroll around seven thousand islands

Qatar - Great women in a small country

Saudi Arabia - Secret worlds

Singapore - Swordfish vs Singapore

South Korea - Murderous foxes, loving tigers

Sri Lanka - Jackals, spirits, Mouse Deer

Syria - A map made of stories

Taiwan - Serpents, leopards, rainbows

Tajikistan - Tales at the crossroads

Thailand - Thailand, complex and fascinating

Turkmenistan - Mountains of gemstones

United Arab Emirates - United Arab Folktales

Uzbekistan - Wits are a matter of life and death

Vietnam - Butterflies, crabs, immortals

Yemen - In the land of the djinn

Australia and Oceania

Australia - The heroic frill neck lizard, and other legendary people

Fiji - Fantastic folktales from Fiji

Kiribati - Witches, sisters, fairy tales

Marshall Islands - Sailing from story to story

Micronesia (Federated States of Micronesia) - Whale vs Octopus, and other creature features

Nauru - The many uses of seashells

New Zealand - The Land of the Long White Cloud

Palau - Tales in color and style

Papua New Guinea - Cassowaries, marsupials, and the day the Moon ate people

Samoa - Visiting the Warrior Goddess

Solomon Islands - Female warriors, and the roots of life

Tonga - East of the Sun, West of the Clam

Tuvalu - Tiny stop in Tuvalu

Vanuatu - War and Peace and Puffer Fish

Central America and the Caribbean

Antigua and Barbuda - Six little pigs and a lion

Bahamas - Trickster bonanza

Barbados - Trickster continuity

Belize - Guardians of Nature

Costa Rica - The knight in shining armor is a bunny on an armadillo

Cuba - Cuba in all its colors

Dominica - The girl who lived to dance

Dominican Republic - Familiar tales with unexpected twists

El Salvador - Ants digging up folktales

Grenada - Susan and the Sesame

Guatemala - Trickster Jesus and corn spirits

Haiti - Of singing turtles and magic orange trees

Honduras - Horror from Honduras

Jamaica - Anancy meck it

Nicaragua - The Amazons of Corn Island

Panama - Zombies in a matchbox

Saint Kitts and Nevis - Hostile hummingbirds and helpful horses

Saint Lucia - Trickster slays a dragon

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - King Rufus gambles with the Devil

Trinidad and Tobago - Wise crabs, sweet crabs, grumpy crabs

Europe

Albania - Sun, Moon, and Nasruddin

Andorra - Land of witches

Armenia - From the sky fell three apples

Austria - Giants, Dwarves, Kobolds

Azerbaijan - Roses, dervishes, warrior women

Belarus - A basketful of Belarusian folktales

Belgium - Blame it on Reynard

Bosnia and Herzegovina - The Hodja in the refugee camp

Bulgaria - Troubles with creation

Croatia - The soldier in the kingdom of monkeys

Cyprus - Love and integrity

Czech Republic - A legend on every corner

Denmark - Dragons, trolls, heroic women

England - Forests full of forgotten folktales

Estonia - The strange beauty of Estonian folktales

Finland - Women from the sea

France - Fairy godmothers all over the place

Georgia - Heroes in the wilderness

Germany - Legends of the Rhine

Greece - The Greeks tell great stories

Hungary - Fairies, giants, flaming chickens and green pigs

Iceland - Land of magic and enchantment

Italy - Great female heroes, unexpected plot twists

Kosovo - The battle of Kosovo

Latvia - Kokles-music saves the day

Liechtenstein - Tiny tales from a tiny country

Lithuania - Mythic marriage, mythic divorce

Luxembourg - The mysterious Mélusine

Macedonia - God and taxes

Malta - The land of talking winds

Moldova - Dragons are people too

Monaco - Between the mountains and the sea

Montenegro - Luring down the stars and scheduling the rain

Netherlands - Diversity in the Netherlands

Northern Ireland - Land of legends

Norway - Trolls, polar bears, and other Norwegian classics

Poland - Sleeping knights, vigilant devils

Portugal - Islands made of flowers

Republic of Ireland - Tales of endless adventures

Romania - Flowers and gemstones

Russia - Ivans and Vasilisas everywhere

San Marino - Children of San Marino

Scotland - Fairies, heroes, wizards

Serbia - Of vilas and dragons

Slovakia - A large assortment of magical helpers

Slovenia - Snakes and magic kingdoms

Spain - Nobody expects the Spanish princesses

Sweden - The magic pisspot, and some squirrels

Switzerland - Alpine wonderland

Turkey - Fairy tales are crystal

Ukraine - Giants, vampires, lady foxes

Vatican City - The Devil did it

Wales - Arthur, Merlin, and the Fair Family

North America

Canada - Golden phoenix, golden knight

Mexico - Gods and storytellers

United States of America - Is there such a thing as a white American folktale?

South America

Argentina - Armadillos rule

Bolivia - Myths, flowers, and an army of chinchillas

Brazil - The richness of the rainforests

Chile - Fairy tales, Chilean style

Colombia - Gods and emeralds

Ecuador - Tricksters and fairy tales

Guyana - Of women and jaguars

Paraguay - Period is power

Peru - Talking mountains, hidden treasures

Suriname - Enter Anansi!

Uruguay - Scattered stories

Venezuela - Sea above, world below